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Self-esteem plays a central role in mental health, yet not enough is known about how youth evaluate themselves as they move across adolescence. This study used a cross-sectional design to examine age and gender patterns in self-esteem and to explore how contemporary social influences relate to adolescent self-esteem. Selfreported influences on self-esteem involving the media, sexual harassment, body image, family and peer relationships, and emotional expression were evaluated with 93 boys and 116 girls in Grades 5, 8, and 12. Girls reported lower selfesteem than boys in early adolescence, and late adolescent boys reported lower self-esteem than younger boys. The predictors as a set accounted for a significant portion of the variance in self-esteem, while the best predictor of self-esteem varied by age and gender. Large gender differences were present for emotional expression, with boys becoming more restrictive across adolescence. Girls reported more negative body image and media influence scores than did boys in late childhood and early adolescence. Body image appeared to mediate the relationships between certain predictors and self-esteem for girls, while gender and grade appeared to moderate the relationship between media influence and self-esteem for girls and boys.
INTRODUCTION
Global self-esteem, which refers to a person's general sense of worth or acceptance (Wylie, 1979), is recognized for the critical role it plays in mental health and psychopathology (Bednar et al., 1989; National Advisory Mental Health Council (NAMHC), 1996; Rosenberg et al., 1979), yet not enough is known about how youth evaluate themselves as they move across adolescence. Research regarding age declines and gender differences in self-esteem is equivocal (Mullis et al., 1992; Wade et al., 1989), and when gender differences are found, adolescent girls report lower self-esteem relative to boys (Block and Robins, 1993; Brack et al., 1988; Brown and Gilligan, 1993; Kling et al., 1999). Given the relationship between selfesteem and mental health, additional research is needed to explain these age and gender differences in self-esteem and to explore contemporary social predictors of self-esteem.
Researchers have established direct connections between self-esteem and several correlates. Physical appearance consistently correlates positively with adolescent self-esteem (Abell and Richards, 1996; Harter, 1983; Petersen et al., 1984). Although this association has been established, it is not clear how and why body image relates so strongly...